Method of making hosiery



1958 M. M. LIHN 2,847,840

METHOD OF MAKING HOSIERY Filed Dec. 28, 1953 6 Sheets-Sheet l IIIIIIIIIIIIIIII' I'IIIIIIIIIIII In rr ATTORNEYS,

19, 1958 M. M. LIHN 2,847,840

METHOD OF MAKING HOSIERY Filed Dec. 28, 1953 6 Sheets-Sheet 3 Friar A rt INVENTOR Manuel/14 Z z'rz.

ATTO R N EY 3 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 M. M. LIHN METHOD OF MAKING HOSIERY Aug. 19, 1958 Filed Dec. 28, 1953 ATTORNEYS Aug. 19, 1958 M. M. LIHN 2,847,840

METHOD OF MAKING HOSIERY Filed Dec. 28, 1953 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 Aug. 19, 1958 M. M. LlHN METHOD 'OF MAKING HOSIERY 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 Filed Dec. 28, 1953 s R Y 0% E W m E o V40 T m4 m Mdill/ M 2,847,840 METHoD OF MAKING HOSIERY Manuel M. Lihn, Clementon, N. 1., assignor to Clementon Hosiery Mill, Collingswood, N. J., a corporation of New Jersey Application December 28, 1953, Serial No. 400,403

1 Claim. (Cl. 66-89) The present invention relates to full fashioned ladies hosiery, methods of producing the same and mechanism for producing such hosiery.

A purpose of the invention is to produce a more attractive and better fitting appearance on full fashioned ladies hosiery. Y

A further purpose is to construct a stocking in which the fashioning more closely approximates the leg contour.

A further purpose is to provide straight seams by securing even distribution of tension which prevents twisting and turning of the stocking.

A further purpose is to disperse the fashioning to extend below the normal leg narrowings of the prior art to a position at or below the narrowest point of the ankle, thereby securing even distribution of tension on the stocking.

A further purpose is to locate the fashioning near to the selvage so that fashioning marks can be effectively buried in the seam.

A further purpose is to use a new pattern of fashioning and to conceal the narrowing marks within the seam.

A further purpose is to make a more symmetrical pattern both of flare narrowings and leg narrowings in full fashioned hosiery while concealing the fashioning marks from view.

A further purpose is to limit the overlapping of the narrowing fingers on the needles to not more than four points, modifying the knitting machine so as to provide for this limited overlap.

Further purposes appear in the specification and in the claims.

In the drawings I have chosen to illustrate a few only of the numerous embodiments in which my invention may appear, selecting the forms shown from the standpoints of convenience in illustration, satisfactory operation and clear demonstration of the principles involved.

Figure l is a rear elevation of a ladies stocking in accordance with the invention in position on the leg.

Figure 2 is an enlarged fragment of Figure 1 showing the seam at the leg narrowings.

Figure 3 is a rear elevation of a prior art ladies stocking in position on the leg.

Figure 4 is an enlarged fragment 'of the prior art stocking of Figure 3, at the leg narrowings.

Figure 5 is a fragmentary diagrammatic illustration of a prior art full fashioned hosiery knitting machine showing the needles, narrowing fingers and narrowing rods and brackets.

Figure 6 is a view corresponding to Figure 5 showing the full fashioned hosiery knitting machine modified to produce narrowing in accordance with the invention.

Figure 7 is a fragmentary view corresponding to Figure 5 showing the outside narrowing fingers of a prior art full fashioned hosiery knitting machine, omitting the narrowing fingers toward the center.

Figure 8 is a view corresponding to Figure 7 showing a modification of the invention with provision for moving United States Patent 0 2,847,840 Patented Aug. 19, 1958 "ice . the narrowing finger brackets further outwardly at the selvage.

Figure 9 is a diagrammatic side elevation of the narrowing head of a prior art knitting machine showing a spacer collar.

Figure 10 is a view corresponding to Figure 9 showing the narrowing head to be employed with the structure of Figure 8 modified in accordance with the invention.

In the drawings like numerals refer to like parts throughout.

In the general prior art practice, in making full fashioned ladies hosiery, there are two groups of narrowings, flare narrowings and leg narrowings. The flare narrowings are in the area of the thigh and shape the stocking as the leg decreases in volume at and above the knee. Leg narrowings in the region of the calf shape the stocking as volume diminishes there.

This can be seen in Figure 3, where a stocking 20 has a top reenforcement 21, a flare narrowing area 22, a leg narrowing area 23 terminating at 23' well above the narrowest part of the ankle, a heel reenforcement 24 and a rear seam 25.

Flare narrowing marks 26 appear on either side of the seam in the flare narrowing area and leg narrowing marks 27 appear on either side of the seam in the leg narrowing area. The resulting effect is shown in Figure 4, which illustrates normal knitting 28 on either side of the seam 25 and narrowing marks 27.

The prior art narrowing technique of Figure 3 produces an appearance from the rear which tends to accentuate the substantial character of the leg in the flare narrowing and leg narrowing areas, and thus is unflattering in appearance. Furthermore the narrowing marks, besides detracting from the appearance, are features of weakness at which runs may start.

Efforts have been made in the prior art to bury leg narrowing marks in the seam, as in Marschner U. S. Patent 1,663,087, granted March 20, 1928, for Method of Making Full Fashioned Hosiery and Product Thereof. This alone is not, however, beneficial where the prior art distribution of narrowings is used as it produces an uneven tension which causes the stocking to twist the seam.

The present invention is designed to improve the appearance and fit of a full fashioned ladies stocking, and particularly to employ a new pattern of fashioning while concealing the narrowing marks in the seam.

In accordance with the invention, the fashioning more closely approximates the leg contour. The seam also tends to remain straight, since there is even distribution of tension which prevents twisting and turning of the stocking. Instead of stopping the leg narrowing at a position well above the narrowest point of the ankle, the leg narrowing is continued to the narrowest point of the ankle or below the same, desirably being distributed equally from the top of the calf to the narrowest point of the ankle. The leg narrowing is also located so close to the selvage that it is buried in the seam, and flare narrowing is preferably also buried in the seam.

The dispersal of the leg narrowings and their concealment within the seam further protects the stockings from migratory runs. Since narrowings in the prior art are in close proximity to each other, they act as relay stations for the transmitting of runs from one fashion mark to the next.

Considering Figure 1, narrowing .is employed in a flare narrowing area 22 and in a leg narrowing area 23,

25 consists of normal knitting 28 while the narrowing marks are concealed in the seam.

The over-all eifect of the stocking of Figure 1 has been '3 to produce a more symmetrical appearance in both the flare narrowing and the leg narrowing areas, thus tending to impart a slimming appearance to the leg.

The leg narrowings are spaced to take care of the taper of the leg from the lower part of the calf to below the thinnest part of the ankle. The narrowing marks do not cause gathering of the selvage edge in the seaming operation. The tension in the seam prevents twisting after the stocking is worn, due to the presence and distribution of the narrowing marks.

In accordance with the invention, the fashioning in the area corresponding to the leg narrowing extends from the top of the calf (or bottom of the knee) at 23 to a position at or below the narrowest point of the ankle at 23 and preferably is uniformly distributed in length over this distance. This gives better fit and prevents tensions which would otherwise cause twisting and turning of the seam. The narrowing marks in the leg narrowings are so close to the selvage (not more than four points from the selvage) that the narrowing marks are buried in the seam.

When efforts were made in the present invention to retain prior art practice regarding the flare narrowings with the improved fit, and the practice of the present invention with respect to the leg narrowings, it was found that using knitting machines with an overlap of 26 needles, when the narrowing fingers were racked to the outside position to effect concealment of the leg narrowings through a four-needle overlap, it was necessary to employ a minimum of 11 visible flare narrowings before the machine could be repositioned for the leg narrowings. While an improved fit and appearance were obtained, with concealment of the leg narrowings, it was found that the flare narrowings were objectionably prominent, and so in the preferred embodiment of the invention both flare and leg narrowing marks were located within four points of the selvage and concealed in the seam. This gives the full advantage of the improved fit and the straightness of the seam, while producing a slimming effect due to the concealment of all narrowing marks.

In order to simplify the description in accordance with the present invention, the reader is referred to the Reading High-Production Full-Fashioned Knitting Machine (Textile Machine Works, 1940) for the basic description of the full fashioned hosiery knitting machine and particularly to the chapter on Narrowing which begins at page 38.

In normal prior art practice, the knitting machine for knitting each full fashioned stocking includes a needle bar mounting needles 31 which are distributed longitudinally of the machine. The needles cooperate with narrowing fingers 32 and 33 at the middle, which are not important in the present invention, and narrowing fingers 34 and 35 at the selvage. The narrowing fingers carry points 36 as well known which during narrowing cooperate with the needles as explained in the text book above mentioned.

The narrowing fingers 34 and 35 are supported by brackets 37 and 38 which are respectively mounted on narrowing rods 40 and 41 which extend longitudinally of the machine and are supported on guides 42 at intervals along the length of the machine.

In the prior art practice, the narrowing fingers 34 and 35 overlap the needles to the extent of approximately 22 points. This means that in the prior art stocking of Figure 3 the first fashioning mark extends 22 needles from the selvage edge whenever the full needle bar is used in knitting.

In the form of the invention shown in Figure 6, the narrowing fingers overlap the needles only about four points, and this is accomplished by eliminating narrowing points from the narrowing fingers 34-and 35 as shown. This is particularly suited to the manufacture of a loopless toe construction.

Thus in Figure 6 as compared with the prior art of Figure 5, eighteen points have been eliminated from the inside of each narrowing finger 34 and 35. This pro- "ides for an overlap of four needles with respect to the full needle bar at each selvage. In this construction it is necessary to use the small narrowing fingers to narrow the stocking in the toe so as to effect closure of the loopless toe in the seaming operation. Due to the elimination of eighteen points on each narrowing finger, thirtysix needles at least are lacking in narrowing the toe to the point of complete closure. The use of the small fingers in the toe area makes up for the insufficient number of points in the large narrowing fingers. Since each small narrowing finger 32 or 33 has eighteen points the loop less toe is closed by having the narrowing operation completed by these narrowing fingers.

In some cases, it is preferable to modify the narrowing brackets on the narrowing rods and remove the points from the outside rather than the inside of the narrowing fingers. Thus in Figure 8, brackets 37 and 38 have been cut out at the outside edges and repositioned on the narrowing rods 40 and 41 and the outside edges of the narrowing fingers 34 and 35' have been cut 011?, eliminating the positions for mounting I8 narrowing points in each narrowing finger and thus in effect bringing the inside narrowing points into a position of four needle overlap at each selvage as in Figure 6.

In order to make the construction of Figure 8 practical, it is necessary to modify the narrowing head slightly.

Figure 9 shows a narrowing head including a narrowing spindle 43 having oppositely threaded portions 44 and 45 and having a narrowing adjustment handle 46. The spindle is manipulated as well known in the art and carries a nut 47 threading with the thread portion 44 and carrying a narrowing rod adjustment projection 48 which is adjustably connected by a bracket 50 to narrowing rod 41. On spindle thread portion 45, nut 51 interthreads with the thread on the spindle and carries narrowing rod control abutment 52 which interconnects with adjustable bracket 53 on narrowing rod 40. The opposed threaded portions of the spindle are separated by collar 54.

In order to employ the modified construction of Figure 8, collar 54 is eliminated as shown in Figure 10, so that nuts 47 and 51 can move relatively close to one another as shown. The ends of the narrowing rods are suitably shortened.

Thus in either of the constructions of Figure 6 or Figures 8 and 10, the narrowing fingers at the selvage when knitting on the full needle bar are limited to about four needles overlap or four points overlap at each selvage.

It will be evident of course that the distribution of the narrowing along the length of the stocking and particularly the distribution from the top of the calf to the narrowest point of the ankle in the leg narrowing will be obtained by the positioning of the narrowing projections on the narrowing chain as described in the textbook above referred to, and as shown in my copending application Serial No. 329,507, filed January 5, 1953, now abandoned, for Hosiery Knitting and Hosiery, it being understood that the narrowing chain mechanism can be entirely conventional except to distribute the narrowing projections in the manner herein described to give the narrowing distribution above referred to.

In view of my invention and disclosure variations and modifications to meet individual whim or particular need will doubtless become evident to others skilled in the art, to obtain all or part of the benefits of my invention without copying the method, apparatus and products shown, and I therefore claim all such insofar as they fall within the reasonable spirit and scope of my claim.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

The method of making a full fashioned stocking, which comprises knitting the leg of the stocking and at the portion of the leg above the knee, introducing flare narrowings with an overlap of the needles and the narrowing fingers at each selvage limited to four points, and in the portion of the calf introducing leg narrowings distributed equally from the top of the calf to the narrowest point of the ankle, with the narrowing fingers in the calf limited in overlap of the needles to four points, and then seaming together the selvage edges in a seam which includes the flare and leg narrowing marks.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Winter Dec. 28, 1897 Marschner Mar. 20, 1928 Belber Apr. 12, 1932 Smetana Nov. 28, 1939 Howie May 21, 1940 Crawford Apr. 22, 1941 Schletter M July 29, 1947 Kaul et al. Nov. 22, 1949 Nebel Nov. 28, 1950 

